Machine for closing and sealing the tops of filled cartons.



J. H. WITT.

MACHINE FOR CLOSING AND SEALING THE TOPS 0P FILLED CARTONS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 14, 1911.

J. H. WITT.

MACHiNB FOB CLOSING AND SEALING THE TOPS OF FILLED OARTONS.

APPLICATION FILED PEB.14,1911.

1,36,399 Patented Aug. 20, 1912.

2 SHEETSSHBET 2.

- acter of the contents JOHN H. WITT, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNORTO PNEUMATIC SCALE CORFOBATION LIMITED,

OF QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

MACHINE FOR CLOSING AND SEALING THE TOPS OF FILLED CARTONS.

Specification of Letters Yatent.

Patented Augn2,f912.

Serial No. 608,590.

aZZ whom it may concern JOHN H. 'Wwr, a citizen of the United States,residin at Boston, in the county of Suffolk, State 0% Massachusetts,have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Machines forClosing and Be it known that I,

Sealing the Tops of Filled Cartons, of which.

the following is a specificatiom'reference being had therein to theaccompanying drawings.

In putting up package goods in cartons by machine after the carton hasbeen filled it is necessary to fold in and seal the top closing flaps ofthe carton. Mechanism for doing this has been heretofore employed andafter the flaps are glued and folded it is important that the flapsshould be held' in folded contact with each other by pressure for aperiod of time so that the flaps will not spring back before the gluesets. Mechanism for doin this has sometimes been emplo ed. One form ofmechanism for closing an under pressure while the glue sets is shown inUnited States-Patent, No. 930,090, dated August 3, 1909, granted toPneumatic Scale 7 Corporation Limited, on the application of William S.Scales. This pressure mechanism is usually applied to the flaps whilethe carton is being conveyed away from the filling mechanism foreconomy'so as not to interfere with the filling and sealing and removingof the following packages. The "apparatus for conveying and pressing thefilled cartons is usuall termed the drier.

There are usually our flaps which form the top end of the carton, thatis two end flaps and two side flaps. It has been found by experiencethat sometimes on account of the carton not being filled solid full orsometimes on account of the yielding charof the carton, when lied to theoutermost folded press it down upon the the under 'flaps yield onaccount of pressure is ap and gummed ap to others for sealing, slightlyunder the pressure the hollow space or softness of the material providemechanlsm whereby the filled car carton containing the other end sealingthe flaps and holding them' above, but it is stages in the tumblingmovement m yielding under'the in any suitable ton while assing throughthe drier mechanism may e inverted so that the top of the folded flapswill then be at the bottom and outside pressure will be again appliedwhile the Weight of the material in the-package will form a downwardpressure opposed to the resistance or upward pressure on the under side.The main purpose is to have two opposing surfaces against opposite endsof the carton and to apply pressure to one of them for a period whilethe carton is in motion, then to automatically invert the carton andagain apply pressure to one of two opposing surfaces bearing againstopposite ends of the inverted carton. It is not of so much importance asto whether the presser mechanism is applied directly on' the top orbottom, as it will be transmitted to by reason of the squeezing effectbetween the two opposing top and bot-- tom surfaces. As shown in thedrawings and described in the specification, the direct pressure isapplied in both instances from to be understood that it may be appliedon the reverse end and still be within the seepage}: the invention. andclaims.

The invention will be fully understood from the following descriptiontaken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the novelfeatures willbe pointed out and clearly defined in the claims at thecloset of the specification.

' In the drawings,-Fig'ure 1 is aside ele Vation' of a machine embodyingthe invention. Fig. 2 is a partial end elevation from-- the left ofFig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail plan view, enlarged showing the means fortightening the belt. Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are detail views in side elevationshowing different of the carton. I I

. Referring now to the drawings ;A represents a carton which isdelivered by any suitable means from the-shelf B of a filling andsealing portion of the machine, (which is not shown) onto a travelingbelt 1 which conveys the packages part way through the drier. Said belt1 is a continuously traveling belt and may be supported and drivenmanner. As shown in the drawings the belt passes around a pulley 2mounted on shaft 3, a pulley at mounted on the shaft 5, around an idlerpulley 6 mountthe freshlyglued and ed on shaft 7 and around an idlerpulley 8 mounted on shaft 9. The pulleys 6 and 8 are for the purpose ofgiving tension'to the belt, the pulley 6 being adjustable with re lationto the pulley 8 for the purpose of varying the tension. The severalshafts 3, 5, 7 and 9 are journaled in bearings supported by the twoparallel rails 10, 10. The bearing 11 for the shaft 7 is adjustablelongitudinally on the rail 10 by any suitable means. As shown in thedrawings the bearing 11 is formed with alug 12 which has ascrew-threaded hole to receive a bolt. .A bolt 13 passes through anangle plate 14 secured to the rail 10 and engages with the threaded holein the lug 12 so that by turning the bolt 13 the bearing 11 may be movedtoward or from the angle plate 14 thereby varying the position of theshaft 7 and pulley 6 and thereby varying the tension of the belt 1.

The rails 10 are adjustably supported between the two .pairs of columns15, 15, 16, 16,, in such manner that the rails may be raised or lowered.The means for supporting and adjusting the rails are as follows:Inasmuch as the supporting and adjusting mechanism is the same for eachset of columns 15, 16, the same numerals will be used to designate thecorresponding parts of each set of columns, as far as convenient.

Each pair of columns is tied together by a cross bar 17 which has avertical screw threaded aperture for the passage of a' screw-threadedrod 18 midway. between the two columns. The lower end of the rod isprovided with a wheel or handle 19 for the purpose of rotating the rod.A table 20 rests on top of the rod 18, preferably being formed with arecess in the. under side to re ceive the end of the rod. In order toprevent the table 20 from turning with the rod 18 and tomaintain it instraight position two studs- 21 extend down from the under side of the.table 20 on opposite sides of the rod 18 and pass loosely through holesin the cross bar 17. A U-shaped fork 22 rests on the upper side of thetable 20 and is formed I with inside web portions 23 which arethickenedat their upper end to'which the two parallel rails 10, 10, aresecured. The upper ends of the fork 22 are formed with bosses 24 whichhave threaded holes extendin into the thickened upper portions of theW5) 23 to receive the screw bolts 25 which pass through slots 26 in thecolumns 15 and engage with said screw-threaded holes in the bosses 24and webs 23. These bolts 25 are provided with heads which bear againstthe outside of the slots 26 so that by setting up the bolts the forkwill be clamped firmly against the side of the columnsl5.

.The slots 26 are elongated vertically. By

loosening the bolt 25 the rod 18. may then be turned so as to elevatethe rod and the table 20 and therefore the fork 22 may be raised andalso by turning the rod 18 in the reverse direction the rod will belowered and the table and fork will be lowered. The

bolts 25 lock the rails and fork in position down on the outside of oneof the uprights- 30 and the other leg extends down. on the outside ofthe other upright 30, that'is the two uprights 30 are embraced-betweenthe two legs of the fork. A shaft 32 is-journaled in the lower ends ofthe legs of said fork 31 and passes through a vertically elongated slot33- in each of saiduprights 30 so that the shaft 32 and the fork 31 maybe adjusted vertically with relation to the uprights 30.

A block or crossbar 35 extends crosswise between the two uprights 30 andis secured to said uprights. An adjusting screw 34 passes down through athreaded hole in the head of the fork 31 and its lower end bears uponthe block 35, said cross block 35 and the uprights 30 being immovableafter the rails 27 are clamped in their adjusted position. Inasmuch asthe screw 34 does not move longitudinally if it is rotated in onedirection it will have the effect of raising the fork 31'andif rotatedin the other direction it will have the effect of depressing the fork 31to the extent allowed by the elongated slot 33. By raising or loweringvthe fork 31 the shaft 32 is raised or lowered.

A belt 36 passes around over the two end pulleys 37, 38, mountedrespectively on shafts 39 and 40 journaled in bearings mounted upon therails 27. Said belt also passes over the pulley 40 mounted on shaft 32.By raising said shaft 32 in the manner previously described said pulle40 may be raised to increase the tension 0 belt 36.

A series of rollers 41 are journaled loosely in. rails 42 which are hungfrom the rails 27 rpaegsee Thespace between the lower run'of the belt 1onwhich the cartons are carried should be very slightly less than theheight of the carton so that the downward pressure of the rollers 41upon the lower run of theb'elt 36 will cause the belt to bear with ayielding pressure uponthe folded flaps on the upper end of the carton.

The upper run-of the belt 1 slides-one rigid horizontal support or table46 so that the upper run of'thebelt'l which carries the cartons cannotsag but will be maintained in a perfectly-straight plane, and at aconstant elevation. The said support -46'is' mounted on the rails "sothat when'the "rails 10 are raised or lowered-to adjust them, thesupport 46 will also be raised'or lowered at thesame'time but whentherails are clamped in their adjusted position'the support- 46" willalso-be fixed.

The belts 1 and '36 should travel at an equal speed with each other andmay be drivenin anysuitable way. When the-apparatus of 'the presentinvention is used directly with a sealin machine it is preferable tohave the said %elts driven uniformly with the carrier of the sealingmachine. As shown in the drawings a sprocket wheel 47 is mounted on theshaft 3, a sprocket wheel 48"is mounted on shaft 39, a sprocket chain 49passes over said sprockets 47 and48 and over an idler-'50 thencethechain is shown broken ofi but it may pass around any suitably drivensprocket wheel which if desired may be driven by' the same mechanismwhich drives the carriero-f the sealing mechanism.

The belts 1 and 36 aredriven slowly'so that as the carton passes thelength of travel allowed by said belts, the glue of the top closing.flaps of the carton will have time to become partially set before it istumbled over into the inverted position on the next belt, otherwise theflaps will-spring back during the tumbling. After the carton is carriedby the belt-'1 to'the turning point where the belt runs around theforward pulley 4 the carton will'tip and is turned end over end by meanswhich will be hereinafter described onto another belt 51 so that thecarton will stand on the belt 51 bottomside up. Said belt 51 is run overulleys in suchnianner that the upper run of the belt 51 will the upperrun of thebelt 1. Asshown said belt 51 runs overa 'pulley52 at one endand over a similar pulley at the-other end (not is broken away) shownbecause the belt said pulley 52 being mounted 'on a shaft'53 journaledinbearings mounted on two :parallel rails '54 in a similar manner tothat in which the pulleys 2 and 4 are carriedby the rails 10.

supported. The "rails 554 are adjust ably supported between 'columns'55and between anshown in the be on a lower level than 1 of the upper runof the belt 51. p The forward pulley, not shown, over which the pulley.51- runs issimilarly other pair of forward columns similarlyconstructed but not shown in the same manner as the rails 10 aresupported. The same numerals are used to indicate the correspondingparts in the columns 55 and the said supporting parts as alreadydescribed with relation to the columns 15 and 16 as far as convenient.The elongated slot 261 in the column 55 corresponds with the elongatedslot 26 in the column 15 and the elongated slot 291' corresponds withthe slot 29 inthe-column 15=except that preferably the slots 261 and 291are'longer than the slots 26 and 29 in order to give a greater range ofadjustment although it is'obvious that in both ases the slots may be ofual length if made sufficiently long :to a the requisite range ofadjustment. The upper run of the belt 51 slides 'ona rigid support56*which is raised or lowered when the rails 54 are raised or loweredthe same as described with relation to the support 46. The belt 57passesover pulley 58 and over a forward pulley, not shown, said pulley57 and said forward pulley being mounted on shafts 59 journaled inbearings mounted upon rails 60. Said rails 60 are mounted andadjustablyconnected with the columns in the same manner as the rails 27were mounted with relation to the columns 15 and 16. Hung from the rails60 are another pair of rails 61in the same manner as the rails 42 arehung from the rails 29. Journaled on said rails 61 are a series ofrollers 62 in the same manner also as described w1th=relation to therollers 41 and the rails 42. The space between the upper run of thebelt- 51 and the under run ofthe belt- 57 should be slightly less thanthe height of the" carton, the same as described with relation to thespace between the'belts 1 and 36.

The mechanism for inverting the carton as it passes from the belt 1 ontothe belt 51 is as follows :-There is a short space between the forwardend of the run of the belt land the beginning of the run of the belt 51and'as already stated the belt 51 is somewhat lower than the belt 1. Aninclined plate 63 issecured just forward of the pulley 4 to suitablesupports, the supports drawings beingthe forward endsofthe rails 10. Therearend of the saidinclined plate 63 comes close to the belt 1, the rearend of said inclined plate being higher than the forward end butbeingpreferably slightly lower than the upper level of the of'the plate 63extends toward the pulley 52 and preferably slightly below the levelMounted on the upper face of said inclined plate 63 is a block 64, therear face'65 of which is in a plane at an incline to the horizontal andterminating in'an abrupt turn 66st its ord a sea belt 1. The lower andforward end 1 highest point. Its forward face 67 extends toengage whatis then the upper end of the down to the base plate 63 by a sharpdescent, preferably slightly inclined rather than vertical. The forwardface 67 will be somewhat longer than the rear face 65. Preferably thefaces 65 and 67 are straight with the exception of the slightly curvedportion at the crown 66. When the carton carried by the belt 1 reachesthe downward turn of the belt around the forward pulley 4 it will fallover and as soon as it loses its balance the carton will first tip overwith its forward side lying upon the face 65 of the block 64. The lengthof said face 65 of the block 64 is preferably somewhat less than half ofthe length of the carton. When the carton falls fiat on the face 65 ofthe .block somewhat more than half of the carton will project beyond theend or crown 66 of the block 64 and the carton will again lose itsbalance on account of the greater weight of the projectingportion of thecarton so that it will tumble over the hump or crown 66 of the block andfall top end down upon the belt 51. The momentum of the carton willcause it'to keep on from the position shown in Fig. 6 until it standssquare on end. The carton will. then be carried by the belt 51 with thetop end down so that when it reaches the pressure belt 57 the pressurebelt 57 will bear onwhat really is the bottom of the carton now on toppressing the carton down against the unyielding upperrun of the belt 51and the full weight of the contents will press down upon the inner faceof the top closing flaps which are now on the bottom so that now thenewly sealed top closing flaps are squeezed together between the weightof the material in the carton and the pressure belt. beneath, andcontinue thus until the carton is carrie beyond the pressure mechanismduring which time the glue will become firmly set.

. In order to properly guide the carton so that it will not fallsidewise when it passes from the belt 1 to the belt 51, said guide rails68 are located somewhat higher than the top of the belt 1. As shown inthe drawings these side guides 68 are secured to upright bars 69 risingfrom the rails 10.

These guide rails 68 extend forward over the belt 51 to properly guidethe carton until it is fully seated on the belt 51. The pulleys 52 and58 are driven by any suitable mechanism, that shown being by a sprocketchain 70 running over a sprocket wheel 71 on shaft 53 and sprocket Wheel72 on shaft 59 and around an idler 7 3 on shaft 74 thence around anysuitable driving sprocket which is not shown, and preferably connectedwith the same driving mechanism.

In order to insure that the carton will not tip too far over so as tolose its balance after it strikes the belt 51 mechanism is providedcarton, that is the bottom end when the carton is on the'belt 51. Themechanism shown consists of a plate 75 hung from the rear ends of therails 60 as for instance by a hanger 76. Said plate 75 is sli htlyhigher than the under run of the be t 57 but is lower than the under runof the belt 36 so that as the carton tips over the block 64 if it shouldtend to still further turn after it has turned bottom end up,said bottomwill strike the plate 75 and be prevented from turning further and willbe retained on its end.

What I claim is v 1. In combination with a carrier for filled cartons,pressure mechanism for engaging the top closing flaps of the cartonwh1le the carton is being moved by said carrier, a second carrier injuxtaposition with said first carrier, an obstruction member mountedbetween said two carriers having inclined rear and front faces, the rearface of which is inclined upwardly and forwardly and the front face ofwhich is inclined downwardly and forwardly toward the second carrier,said first carrier being adapted to move the carton into engagement withthe rear face of said obstruction member.

" 2. In combination with a carrier for filled cartons a second carrierin juxtaposition with said first carrier, an obstruction member mountedbetween said two carriers having inclined rear and front faces, the rearface of which is inclined upwardly and forwardly and the front face ofwhich is inclined downwardly and forwardly toward the second carrier,said first carrier being adapted to move the carton into engagement{)vith-the rear face of said obstruction mem- 3. In combination with acarrier for filled cartons having a bottom support for the cartons, asecond carrier in juxtaposition with said first carrier having a supportfor the lower end of the carton at a lower level than said bottomsupport of the first carrier, an obstruction member mounted between saidtwo carriers, the rear face of which is inclined upwardly and, forwardlyand the front face of which is inclined downwardly and forwardly towardsaid second carrier,

said first carrier being ada ted to move the carton into engagement wlththe rear face of said obstruction member causing the carton to tumbleover said obstruct-ion member in inverted position on said secondcarrier.

4. In combination with a carrier for filled cartons having a bottomsupport for the cartons, a second carrier in juxtaposition with saidfirst carrier having a support for the lower end of the carton at alower level than said bottom support of the first carrier, anobstruction member mounted between said two carriers, the rear face ofwhich is infront face of which is inclined downwardly and forwardlytoward said second carrier, said first carrier being adapted to move thecarton into engagement wlth the rear face of said obstruction membercausingthe carton to tumble over said obstruction member in invertedposition on said second carrier, and pressure mechanism which engagesone end of the carton while being moved by both of said carriers.

5. In combination witha carrier for filled cartons having a bottomsupport for the cartons, a second carrier in juxtaposition with saidfirst carrier having a support for the lower end of the cart-on atralower level than said bottom support of the first carrier, anobstruction member mounted between said two carriers, the rear face ofwhich is inclined upwardly and forwardly and the front face of which isinclined downwardly and forwardly toward said second carrier, said firstcarrier being adapted to move the carton into engagement with the rearface of said obstruction member, the length of said rear face being lessthan one half of the height of the carton.

6. In combination with a traveling carrier for cartons on which one endof the carton rests during the travel, a second traveling carrier injuxtaposition with said first carrier at a lower level than said firstcarrier and adapted to form a bottom support for cartons carriedthereby, means for automatically tumbling the cartons from said firstcarrier into an inverted position on said second carrier, travelingpressure mechanism which engages the upper end of said cartons for acontinued period of time while the carton is being moved by said firstcarrier pressing down upon the top of the carton in opposition to thebearlng surface of the carrier on the lower end of the carton andtraveling pressure mechanism which engages for a continued period oftime the upturned end of the inverted carton on the second carrier inopposition to the bearing surface of the carrier on the lower end of thecarton.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM A. COPELAND, ALICE H. MORRISON.

